Assorted liquid dispensing lids and drinking vessels have been marketed and sold to the general public for many years. At least some of these drinking vessels have been designed for particular purposes such as to be used during athletic competitions, or when an individual is engaged in other athletic pursuits, such as riding a bicycle, running, and other physical activities and where the continual hydration of the participant is desired.
Assorted efforts have been undertaken to develop drinking vessels, and assorted lids utilized with same, and which permit the selective dispensing or consumption of the beverage enclosed within the drinking vessel in a manner which prevents the consumed fluid from inadvertently spilling on the user, or further spilling from the drinking vessel should the drinking vessel be inadvertently overturned during the activity or due to other events such as when the drinking vessel is dropped or overturned as might be occasioned while a person is operating a motor vehicle.
In addition to the foregoing, many users of the aforementioned prior art drinking vessels have employed the drinking vessels to dispense assorted different beverages such as water, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and the like. As should be understood, dispensing carbonated beverages from a drinking vessel, for example, tends to deposit small amounts of this liquid on the exposed surface areas. This residue typically includes sugar-based components and which, when dried, can often create a sticky residue which facilitates the growth of various undesirable microorganisms. If these coated and exposed surfaces are not periodically cleaned, the surfaces may be contaminated to a point where a user can become exposed to undesirable levels of microorganisms thereby causing illness. Still further, this type of contamination in certain designs of liquid dispensing lids may rise to a level where the residue impedes the operation of the liquid dispensing lid and prevents the effective closure or opening of the fluid dispensing lid.
Many designers of drinking vessels have attempted to provide various arrangements for avoiding the problems associated with the coating of exposed surfaces with various residues derived from the fluids which have been dispensed from a drinking vessel. While these various design attempts have operated with varying degrees of success, one of the chief problems associated with these previous prior art designs has been that such liquid dispensing lids have been unduly mechanically complex, and therefore have been quite costly to fabricate, or on the other hand, have often been difficult to disassemble and clean notwithstanding the representations of the designers that such products can be readily disassembled for cleaning so as to maintain them in a sanitary condition.
The present invention avoids the detriments associated with the various prior art practices and products utilized heretofore, and provides a fluid dispensing lid which is easy to operate, is easy to disassemble and reassemble, and further provides a convenient means whereby a user can single-handedly operate the liquid dispensing lid in a manner which allows the user to continue their daily activities whether they be athletic, or otherwise, and can further reliably secure the liquid dispensing lid so as to prevent liquid spills when the liquid dispensing lid and associated drinking vessel is inadvertently overturned, or not in use.